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Statement Executive Board

Executive Board11/01/16

Statement on the events taking place in Dresden over the past year

Since October 2014, a movement emerged in Dresden, which has drawn attention from all over the world to our city. The xenophobic right-wing movement “PEGIDA” (Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the Occident) uses every Monday evening to march through the beautiful historic town center of Dresden. Thousands of participants join these demonstrations every week. Whereas there is no evidence of a homogeneity among the participants’ reasons and motivation; anti-migrant and anti-asylum tendencies abound. Claiming to fight for the preservation of Germany’s cultural setting, they are in fear of an overburdening of our country due to the current influx of refugees. There are, in fact, large numbers of refugees and migrants coming in, seeking shelter and the prospect of a brighter future in our country. Nevertheless, they are not an overburdening. Indeed, their presence might change the cultural setting of Germany. But this is to be seen rather as an enrichment than a problem. Elbe Model United Nations e.V. clearly distances itself from any kind of xenophobia. We stand for open-mindedness, intercultural understanding, and also literally for “united nations”. We can neither deny, nor ignore the presence of PEGIDA in Dresden, but we can assure to everybody that Dresden has far more to offer. As Lucas Paeth, member of the executive board, puts it in a nutshell: “That is part of the story of our city and we have to face it. But it is not the only story.” elbMUN Conference 2016 is part of Dresden’s other, joyful stories and you are cordially invited to be a part of it!